Katie Cameron’s passion for field hockey enabled Bellingham to maintain its lofty perch atop the Tri-Valley League standings.

The 5-foot-6 center midfielder played on four TVL title teams and she was a catalyst on the Blackhawks’ 1995 squad that won the South sectional championship. Cameron also was a two-time champion at the Bay State Games, leading the Southeast team to a pair of gold medals.

Now 35 and teaching biology and zoology at Bellingham High, Cameron was dynamic when she controlled midfield for coach Lynn Stocks’ teams that dominated the TVL in the early 1990s. Cameron was the spark that got the Blackhawks’ transition game in gear.

"The most important role I performed was communicating with my teammates,’’ Cameron said. "At midfield, you go from defense to offense and back to defense. You have to defend and also get the offense moving when you take possession. Speed and field awareness are important, too. I also had good endurance, rarely ever leaving the field.’’

Midfielders aren’t prolific scorers in field hockey and that basically was the case with Cameron. She netted three goals in her senior year, but contributed 13 assists. One of those assists occurred in the South sectional final against Hockomock League power Foxboro.

"We beat them and I got the assist on the winning goal,’’ Cameron recalled. "I passed to Erica Babiaza, who scored to give us the victory. That was a thrill because that win advanced us to the states. But, unfortunately, we lost in overtime 1-0 to Quaboag in the state semifinals.’’

Cameron was also a major contributor in her junior year. She scored the only goal in a game against Hopkinton that enabled Bellingham to clinch the TVL crown. Later in the tourney, she scored against Martha’s Vineyard, helping the Blackhawks advance.

"I was fortunate to be on a team that had seven seniors in 1995,’’ Cameron emphasized. "And, they were all talented. We had Jackie Pizzi in goal, Carrie Leoncavalo at forward and four solid defensive players in Judy Cialdea, Kristina Zanchi, Crissy Goodstein and Jen Creasia. Three of us went on to play at Division I colleges. Jackie went to the University of Rhode Island, Carrie played for Providence College and I enrolled at UMass-Amherst.’’

Cameron was recruited to play at Boston College, Boston University and Connecticut, but she chose UMass. During the 1995 season, she met the UMass coach, Pam Hixon, at a camp in Maryland that featured national players who were headed to the Olympics. "At the camp, I developed a strong drive,’’ Cameron said. "When I later got to UMass, I was red-shirted, but I worked out with the team all during my freshman year. I eventually focused more on academics and graduated in 2000.’’

Page 2 of 2 - Cameron, who coached the Bellingham girls track team last spring, wasn’t just an all-star in field hockey. At Bellingham, she also competed in indoor and outdoor track, competing in the shot put, triple jump and relay.

"I was decent in the shot put,’’ she said. "My best throw was 32 feet. I qualified for the states in indoor track and was named to the TVL all-star team as an honorable-mention choice.’’

After college, Cameron worked for a year for Americorps in education and conservation, then taught at Harwich before joining Merck, a pharmaceutical firm. For the last three years, she’s been on the staff at Bellingham High. Currently, she’s working on a master's degree in biology.

"I still want to coach and hopefully I’ll coach at Bellingham if it gets JV field hockey next year,’’ she said. "I was proud that last spring our girls track team managed to send four girls to the state meet.’’

When Cameron played, she relied on a competitive philosophy. Winning was important.

"I wanted to win and as long as I gave 100 percent and gave my best, that’s what mattered,’’ Cameron said. "All-out effort is the key to success.’’

Cameron played on league championship teams and won a tourney sectional crown.

"I’ve always been proud of the teams at Bellingham that did win state titles,’’ she said. "We came close, losing in overtime to Quaboag. We had good players and a great coach in Lynn Stocks.’’